1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a gastric band and related accessories. More specifically, the invention relates to a supply tube check valve for use with a gastric band.
2. Description of the Related Art
Morbid obesity is a serious medical condition. In fact, morbid obesity has become highly pervasive in the United States, as well as other countries, and the trend appears to be heading in a negative direction. Complications associated with morbid obesity include hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, multiple orthopedic problems and pulmonary insufficiency with markedly decreased life expectancy. With this in mind, and as those skilled in the art will certainly appreciate, the monetary and physical costs associated with morbid obesity are substantial. In fact, it is estimated the costs relating to obesity are in excess of one hundred billion dollars in the United States alone.
A variety of surgical procedures have been developed to treat obesity. The most common currently performed procedure is Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This procedure is highly complex and is commonly utilized to treat people exhibiting morbid obesity. Other forms of bariatric surgery include Fobi pouch, bilio-pancreatic diversion, and gastroplastic or “stomach stapling”. In addition, implantable devices are known which limit the passage of food through the stomach and affect satiety.
In view of the highly invasive nature of many of these procedures, efforts have been made to develop less traumatic and less invasive procedures. Gastric-banding is one of these methods. Gastric-banding is a type of gastric reduction surgery attempting to limit food intake by reducing the size of the stomach. In contrast to RYGB and other stomach reduction procedures, gastric-banding does not require the alteration of the anatomy of the digestive tract in the duodenum or jejunum.
Since the early 1980's, gastric bands have provided an effective alternative to gastric bypass and other irreversible surgical weight loss treatments for the morbidly obese. Several alternate procedures are performed under the heading of gastric-banding. Some banding techniques employ a gastric ring, others use a band, some use stomach staples and still other procedures use a combination of rings, bands and staples. Among the procedures most commonly performed are vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), silastic ring gastroplasty (SRG) and adjustable silastic gastric banding (AGB).
In general, the gastric band is wrapped around an upper portion of the patient's stomach, forming a stoma that is less than the normal interior diameter of the stomach. This restricts food passing from an upper portion to a lower digestive portion of the stomach. When the stoma is of an appropriate size, food held in the upper portion of the stomach provides a feeling of fullness that discourages overeating.
In practice, the gastric band is inserted behind the stomach and the ends of the gastric band are coupled to latch the device about the stomach. However, when balloon-type gastric bands are used, the balloon must be inflated to ensure proper constriction of the stomach. This is commonly achieved by coupling the balloon to a fluid injection port, for example, a velocity port as is commonly employed within the industry. However, the attachment of the balloon, supply tube and fluid source can sometimes be complicated. In particular, in current low pressure gastric band products, prior to inserting the gastric band into the body the surgeon has to evacuate the gastric band and tie a knot in the supply tube to maintain evacuation of the gastric band during the procedure. After the procedure is complete, the surgeon cuts the knot off of the supply tube. A locking connector is slid onto the supply tube and then the supply tube is pushed onto the barbed fitting on the fluid injection port. The locking connector is then slid up and locked to the fluid injection port to prevent the supply tube and fluid injection port from coming disconnected in the body postoperatively. As those skilled in the art will certainly appreciate, this is a difficult procedure and a need, therefore, exists for improvements in the manner in which a balloon-type gastric band is applied to the stomach and secured to a fluid injection port. The present invention provides a mechanism for overcoming these difficulties.